El Profe: A Surprise Coímbre Commencement
By Adrian Burgos
This shouldn’t happen. A 90-year old man should not make someone in his late 20s appear so out of shape. But that is exactly what Emilio “Millito” Navarro did to me on a July afternoon in Ponce, Puerto Rico, more than twenty years ago.
However, that part of the story is more of an entertaining postscript to a terrific day in Ponce because the charm of Navarro was that he was always full of surprises and able to make people smile.
Bienvenidos (Welcome)
The welcoming spirit of Puerto Ricans is something I admire. Puerto Ricans can make someone they just met feel like they are old friends or entre familia (among family). That is the type of hospitality that Navarro and his family extended to me when I visited them in Ponce.
We met at Parque Charles H. Terry, a converted ballpark where Navarro and his good friend Francisco “Pancho” Coímbre had played baseball in their early professional days. The park had been converted into a multi-use facility with athletic fields and the Pancho Coímbre Sports Museum.
Navarro was excited to show me the recently-opened museum named in honor of his buddy. The museum celebrates Coímbre and other Ponceño athletes.
Coímbre, a feared hitter who rarely struck out, starred in the Puerto Rican winter league and also the Negro Leagues, where he played with the Cuban Stars and New York Cubans operated by Alejandro Pompez.
After their professional playing days, Navarro and Coímbre remained in professional baseball as coaches for teams in Ponce and across Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
But Ponce was always the place they returned, their home.
Always Prepared
When I contacted Navarro via phone to schedule our interview he informed me that the dates I proposed worked well. He also shared that there will be a graduation ceremony of a Coímbre summer baseball school at Charles H. Terry Park, and I was invited to come.
The place was buzzing with excitement when I arrived. There were about a dozen teams of Little League-aged kids milling about, some with their parents and others with their coaches. Everyone was excited for the graduation about to take place.
Navarro introduced me to a few of the coaches and honored guests, including former Major Leaguer José “Coco” Laboy and former Negro Leaguer Felix “Felo” Guilbe. Then came the surprise from Millito: An invitation to speak as part of the day’s graduation ceremony. He had convinced the other organizers it would be great for the kids to hear about the history of pioneering players like Coímbre and his generation from a scholar. Touched by the invitation, I could not refuse.
Delivering an impromptu speech at a graduation isn’t too difficult when the topic is Latino baseball history. After all, attendees were not there to hear me speak. They were there for the celebration of the kids’ accomplishments. The key is to keep it short while saluting the accomplishments of the pioneros, or pioneers.
I really don’t recall what I said during the three or four minutes I spoke. What I do remember is the walk to Navarro’s apartment afterward. It was hot, and the walk was another of Millito’s surprises.
Heating Up
The arrival of the real summer heat, when the temps soar into the 90s, often transports me back to that afternoon in Ponce. Tropical heat just hits you differently than the summers in the Midwest. Something about the smell of the ocean and the sea breeze makes the heat in Puerto Rico feel much better than in Illinois.
After the graduation ceremony, Navarro invited me over to his apartment. It was about 3 p.m., typically the hottest part of the day. I offered to get us a taxi to take us. I was thinking it was the right thing to do given his advanced age.
No need, he assured me. “I just live a few blocks away,” he said.
I offered again to get us a cab, but he insisted. No, it’s a short walk.
So off we went from Charles H. Terry to Navarro’s place.
It was not a short walk.
Heading up another street, I asked the question kids often ask their parents: “Are we there yet?”
Yeah, just over the hill on the next block, he informed me.
About 10 minutes later, and nearly half an hour after we left the Coímbre school graduation, we finally arrived at his home.
My button-down shirt was dripping with sweat, and I glanced at Navarro.
He was smiling with that twinkle in his eye and without a single bead of sweat on his brow.
“Quieres un refresco?” (Do you want a drink?)
“Si, por favor,” I exhaled.
That drink never tasted so refreshing.
Featured Image: Museo Pancho Coimbre Ponce Facebook
Inset Image: Adrian Burgos, Jr.